When: 8 MarchWhere: EverywhereWhat: International Women’s Day (8 March) is a global day celebrating the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future. In some places like China, Russia, Vietnam and Bulgaria, International Women’s Day is a national holiday.Why: Suffragettes campaigned for women’s right to vote. The word ‘Suffragette’ is derived from the word “suffrage” meaning the right to vote. International Women’s Day honours the work of the Suffragettes, celebrates women’s success, and reminds of inequities still to be redressed.

A few interesting Star Wars items have appeared around the web since the premiere of The Clone Wars: Lost Missions last Friday. On Saturday B.J. did a nice recap of articles and interviews tied into the release on Netflix.

At the Star Wars Blog, Dave Filoni offered a thank you to the fans by way of artwork “from one of [their] last Clone Wars writer’s conferences.” I have talked a few times recently about fictional undertakings as a way of engaging in the franchise. It seems Filoni would like to encourage fans to create stories of their own imagining.

While we weren’t able to tell every story in the Clone Wars era, there is plenty to look forward to. Every day there are amazing new Star Wars stories being developed here at Lucasfilm. I guess my intention here is to encourage you all to dream, to imagine, not just what these stories might have been, but what the possibilities are for other new stories which have never been told before. And maybe the person who tells those stories will be you. I hope you have enjoyed what was, and what yet might be, a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…

A picture is worth a thousand words, or maybe a few more. And as it is with artists, you can’t learn to master the art form unless you practice. So however Star Wars inspires your muse, enjoy. Here are a couple that inspired me.

If you haven’t caught it, the latest episode of Fangirls Going Rogue with guests Clare Grant and Lisa Granshaw is now up at RebelForce Radio. Teresa and I will be joining Jimmy Mac and Steve Glosson at the RebelForce Radio gathering at the second Star Wars Weekends. To get in the mood might I suggest Jason Surrell’s piece on Imagineering Star Tours and a preview of the Star Wars Weekends merchandise, including a cool Padmé and Leia doll set.

For this year’s Suvudu Cage Match, Princess Leia has been pitted against Baron Munchausen. Jennifer Heddle teamed up with Jess Nevins to predict how the fight would go down. Hop over and pick your winner (and it better be Leia, just saying!).

Tricia Barr took her understanding of brand management and marketing, mixed it with a love of genre storytelling, and added a dash of social media flare to create FANgirl Blog, where she discusses Star Wars, fandom, and strong female characters. She also writes about Star Wars for Random House’s science fiction and fantasy blog Suvudu.com and Star Wars Insider magazine and is a contributor for Her Universe’s Year of the Fangirl. Her FANgirl opinions can be heard on the podcasts Assembly of Geeks and RebelForce Radio Presents Fangirls Going Rogue.

Tricia has completed her first novel, Wynde – a military science fiction with a fantastical twist that features heroines Vespa and Gemini. For excerpts and tales of her adventures in creating a fictional universe, hop over to TriciaBarr.com.

Tricia Barr took her understanding of brand management and marketing, mixed it with a love of genre storytelling, and added a dash of social media flare to create FANgirl Blog, where she discusses Star Wars, fandom, and the intersection of women within Star Wars fandom. She is co-author of Ultimate Star Wars and Star Wars Visual Encyclopedia from DK Publishing, a featured writer for Star Wars Insider magazine with numerous articles on the Hero's Journey. Her FANgirl opinions can be heard on the podcasts Hyperspace Theories and Fangirls Going Rogue.

Tricia Barr's novel, Wynde, won the 2014 Independent Publisher Book Award Gold Medal for Best Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror Ebook. She was also part of Silence in the Library's successful all-female creator science fiction and fantasy anthology Athena's Daughters, which is available now. For excerpts and tales of her adventures in creating a fictional universe, hop over to TriciaBarr.com.

Fangirl

Tricia Barr took her understanding of brand management and marketing, mixed it with a love of genre storytelling, and added a dash of social media flare to create FANgirl Blog, where she discusses Star Wars, fandom, and the intersection of women within Star Wars fandom. She is co-author of Ultimate Star Wars and Star Wars Visual Encyclopedia from DK Publishing, a featured writer for Star Wars Insider magazine with numerous articles on the Hero's Journey. Her FANgirl opinions can be heard on the podcasts Hyperspace Theories and Fangirls Going Rogue.
Tricia Barr's novel, Wynde, won the 2014 Independent Publisher Book Award Gold Medal for Best Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror Ebook. She was also part of Silence in the Library's successful all-female creator science fiction and fantasy anthology Athena's Daughters, which is available now. For excerpts and tales of her adventures in creating a fictional universe, hop over to TriciaBarr.com.